Timothy: Faith that is in you

I AND II TIMOTHY

 

Scripture verse (II Timothy 1:5): “I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”

 

Objectives:

  1. Students should know the “family tree” of Timothy.
  2. Students should know their own family tree and the importance of Christian family life.

 

Background on the book:

            These are two of Paul’s pastoral epistles, letters to Paul’s co-worker Timothy for counsel and encouragement.  Paul had met Timothy when he visited Derbe during his 1st missionary journey.  Timothy was about 18 years old and became a believer.  When Paul revisited Derbe on his 2nd missionary journey, he took Timothy with him as a assistant. Timothy traveled with Paul and often stayed behind to work with new believers in one area while Paul moved on to another.  Timothy became a trusted and loyal friend.  While the book of Acts ends around AD 63 with Paul as a prisoner in Rome under “house arrest”, it is believed that he was acquitted the first time, returned to Asia Minor and Greece, where he was re-arrested (this time by the Romans) and taken back to Rome.  The first letter to Timothy was probably written in AD 64-65 from Macedonia before Paul’s second imprisonment in Rome.

            By the time he wrote II Timothy around AD 66 or 67, Paul was imprisoned in Rome in a dark and damp dungeon.  He knew that death by order of Nero was very near.  This would be his last letter.  It contains his last words of encouragement, instruction, and warning.

 

Possible Lesson Plan:

  1. Open with prayer.

 

  1. Review the background of the book. Who was Timothy? Where was he from? What was his relationship to Paul? Is there a significance that Paul wrote his very last letter to Timothy?

 

  1. Scripture Lesson: II Timothy 1:5, I Kings 15:1-3, II Kings 15:1-4, I Samuel 2:12, Luke 15:11-16. Which of these families is most like yours?

 

  1. Look at some Old Testament families: Joseph and his relationship to his father and brothers, Abraham and his relationship to his nephew Lot, David and his relationship to his son Absalom. Is the “dysfunctional family” a new phenomenon? Truly there is nothing new under the sun!

 

  1. Who were Lois and Eunice? What did we study in Colossians? Were these women famous? Was the result of their love and care, the apostle Timothy,  “worth the effort” even though they never became famous in this world?

 

  1. Do you agree with this statement: “No one will influence you more than your family?” Why or why not? What is one of your favorite memories of family life? (Go around the circle on this one; this may suggest certain directions of discussion.) Why is your family together as a family? Are you getting as much from your family life as you can? How are you giving as much as you can to your family life? If you are not getting much from your family life, is there anything you can do about the situation?  Is our society more concerned with the individual or with the family?

 

  1. Make a family tree for your own family. Do you remember anything about these family members?

 

  1. Close with prayer.